A Pastoral Study Of The City-country Relationship In Michael

Wordsworth is regarded as one of the most influential romantic poet in the 19~thh century Britain.His Lyrical Ballads,published together with Coleridge,marked the beginning of the English Romanticism.Michael,the last poem of Lyrical Ballads,is one of Wordsworth‘s most important pastoral poems.In Michael,Wordsworth masterly integrates the romanticism with realism and makes this poem more captivating.Different from traditional pastoral poem,which portrays country as Eden,Michael shows the real English country and city in the period of Industrial Revolution.Therefore,this poem is of great literary value for studying the English city-country relationship in Wordsworth‘s time.This thesis aims to explore the city-country relationship in Michael through interpreting the destinies of different characters in the poem.Through Raymond Williams‘pastoral theory,the thesis firstly analyzes Michael‘s sacrifice of his son for land,verifying the base of pastoral literature:the industrialized city disrupts the peace of the country and forces countrymen to leave their home for the city.Secondly,it demonstrates that Michael‘s pastoral complex is his deep love for his son and land.Finally,the thesis concludes that the city-country relationship in Wordsworth‘s time is the relation of subordination through analyzing the causes of the miserable fate of Michael‘s pastoral dream.Namely,the city dominates the country and the country is affiliated to the city.They are inseparable.Furthermore,based on the reality of the positive influence of urbanization upon the country in Michael,the thesis explores Wordsworth‘s reflection about industrial civilization.It argues that this reflection is not an occasional mention by the poet,but appears in his later works.